Steam injection is a standard technique for improving oil recovery from a well. It is often desirable to inject steam into a well at a location other than the bottom of the tubing. Initially, the practice was to simply direct the steam into a well liner-tubing annulus in the form of a jet at right angles to the tubing string. This, however, caused damage to the liner. Later steam deflectors were used to deflect the steam into the well liner-tubing annulus in a downward direction above the outside of the tubing. However, certain problems occurred because of a vortex effect as the steam left the steam deflector. This resulted in picking up sand in the steam and thus damaging the liner. The present invention provides a steam deflector which overcomes this problem.